Fatal Attraction (1987)

September 18, 1987

Film: 'Fatal Attraction' With Douglas and Close

By Janet Maslin

Published: September 18, 1987

LEAD: YEARS hence, it will be possible to pinpoint the exact moment that produced ''Fatal Attraction,'' Adrian Lyne's new romantic thriller, and the precise circumstances that made it a hit. It arrived at the tail end of the having-it-all age, just before the impact of AIDS on movie morality was really felt.

YEARS hence, it will be possible to pinpoint the exact moment that produced ''Fatal Attraction,'' Adrian Lyne's new romantic thriller, and the precise circumstances that made it a hit. It arrived at the tail end of the having-it-all age, just before the impact of AIDS on movie morality was really felt. At the same time, it was a powerful cautionary tale. And it played skillfully upon a growing societal emphasis on marriage and family, shrewdly offering something for everyone: the desperation of an unmarried career woman, the recklessness of a supposedly satisfied husband, the worries of a betrayed wife. What's more, it was made with the slick, seductive professionalism that was a hallmark of the day.

''Fatal Attraction,'' which opens today at the Paramount and other theaters, is a thoroughly conventional thriller at heart, but its heart is not what will attract notice. As directed by Mr. Lyne, who also made ''9 1/2 Weeks'' and ''Flashdance,'' it has an ingeniously teasing style that overrules substance at every turn. Mr. Lyne, who displays a lot more range this time, takes a brilliantly manipulative approach to what might have been a humdrum subject and shapes a soap opera of exceptional power. Most of that power comes directly from visual imagery, for Mr. Lyne is well versed in making anything - a person, a room, a pile of dishes in a kitchen sink - seem tactile, rich and sexy.

That kitchen sink is quite literally thrown into the torrid romance of Dan Gallagher and Alex Forrest, played by Michael Douglas and Glenn Close, neither of whom has previously given off much heat in other roles. However, Mr. Lyne's handiwork transforms them into a convincingly passionate pair. The change in Miss Close is especially startling, with the witchy blond tendrils and hard, steady gaze that make her character so seductive and finally so frightening. She first meets Dan at a party, then at a weekend business meeting, and after that Mr. Lyne toys luxuriantly with the viewer's expectations. In a film of his, even Miss Close's signaling Mr. Douglas to wipe some cream cheese off his nose during the meeting can have a remarkable charge.

It's raining after the meeting. Her umbrella works, his doesn't. He suggests they have a drink somewhere, and they do, and what happens after that is no surprise, nor is it made out to be any of Dan Gallagher's doing. His wife, who happens to be gorgeous and perfect (as played by Anne Archer, whose glamorous presence does a lot to make the extramarital affair seem unlikely), happens to be away for the weekend. So what does he do? He doesn't bother to resist, that's all. Audiences who saw the seduction coming will also see its byproduct, a streak of persistence and vindictiveness from the woman who considers herself wronged. As in ''Play Misty for Me,'' still a classic of this genre, this spurned lover's pique becomes ever more terrifying as the film progresses. Most of her tricks are unsurprising, but they are unnerving anyway, so effectively does Mr. Lyne create the happy Gallagher family that Alex means to destroy. The film becomes more predictable and violent as it goes along, but at least one of her methods, having to do with the Gallaghers' search for a storybook house in the suburbs, is indeed ingenious.

''Fatal Attraction'' provides some textbook examples of how to scare an audience even when the audience knows what's coming (though there's one final touch that's inexcusable). It also offers a well-detailed, credibly drawn romantic triangle that's sure to spark a lot of cocktail-party chatter. The fact that Dan Gallagher's home life seems so happy only makes matters more interesting, as does the film's refusal to explain him. It's even difficult to tell anything about this man's inner life from Mr. Douglas's performance, and that may be the point. He doesn't understand it either.